Tomato (a.k.a. Marinara) Sauce
This is my version of a classic base tomato sauce; A.K.A. marinara. I use this as a base for lots of recipes but it stands just fine on its own.
1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1 small onion diced
2 cloves garlic, crushed
¼ cup wine (white or red)
1 large can (796 ml) or jar (680 ml) of strained/crushed tomatoes
3/4 cup beef or chicken stock
5 or 6 basil leaves torn
A handful of fresh Italian parsley chopped (about a tablespoon; don’t use curly parsley, its gross).
Salt
Pepper
– In a sauce pot over medium-high heat, add the olive oil. When the olive oil is hot (it will ripple and bubble when you touch it with a wooden spoon) add the onion and season with a pinch of salt and a bit of pepper, maybe 4 or 5 spins of the pepper mill. Sautee until the onions are translucent, about 5 to 7 minutes.
– Drop the heat to medium low and add the garlic.
– Sauté the garlic for about 30 seconds, careful to not let it burn.
– Turn the heat to high and add the wine, stir and let the wine reduce. This will take about a minute, skip this step is you’re not using wine.
– Turn the heat down to medium-low. Add the tomatoes to the pot and then add the stock to the jar or can to rinse out any tomato residue and add it to the sauce.
– Season with salt and pepper; about a tsp of salt and about ¼ tsp black pepper, approximately 12 to 15 spins of the peppermill.
– Stir well and let the sauce reduce for about 20 minutes on low heat (if the heat is too high the sauce will end up on your ceiling… trust me!).
– Add the basil and parsley and then turn off the heat. Let the sauce stand for a few minutes before you eat it or store it.
Notes:
- Only cook with wine that you drink; white or red work fine here.
- If you don’t have wine or stock on hand you can use water in their place. The idea is to add some liquid to cook out otherwise the tomatoes will become too concentrated.
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